Martinsburg daily gazette. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1887-1887, 1887-05-14
BABY AND HIS THUMB.
A Noteworthy Instance OF Infantile Res
oluti0n-A Long struggle.

olution-A Long Struggle.
From the time that he was six weeks
old his thumb was hardly ever out OF his
mouth for an hour. It was only in that
way he could drop of to Sleep His in
slant response to q caress, even when q
mere infant, was to nestle down with his
cheek against the beloved face and slip
his thumb into his mouth. Many times
day he would seem to fall into q reverie in
that position. What single diversion or
passion in the complex Of life of an adult
could be SO Indispensable, so hard to re-
linquish, as this, the one pastime, the one
employment of baby's idle hoursa
Scores of friends have said: "You must
break it up. The longer you wait the
harder the fight will be-, Only one
method was ever suggested to us: to put
something SO disgusting or bitter Upon the
thumb that it would be uncomfortable to
him, and to persist in this treatment until
the association with the thumb was only
one of aversion, not of comfort. This was
actually tried on q little kinsEoman Of his
who bites her nails; but tho soft hearted
grandsire applying the aloes could not re-
frain from assuring her it vas 'tnice'i
and pretending to taste it. So che accepts
it as treat, liciSs it Off and begs fornore.
Now assafptida is called for.
The week after Max was two. years old
his mother, to prenare him for what
seemed the inevitable treatment, talked
with him long and earnestly, showing him
the calloused, distorted little thumb, so
helpless tic resist his cruel treatment; tel
ling him thai he was pushing his dear
little teeth also ont CT place, and assuring
him that it was ma..il. ], her very unhappy.
So completely were We under the influence
Of all tslc more experienced parents of our
acquaintance that we had no thought of
more than momcnt:.s.y effect from these
words.
For the next day or two he was unac-
countably irritable, and at night especially
he tossed and frctted for hours instead Of
lapsing off at once into peaceful slumbers
as before. Once when his mother stepped
in to soothe him she was greeted with en-
angry mamma, go 'wayl Dom want
mammal Want kick mammar' Pres
emily we realized what a struggle was
being fought through. From that day IN
never again in his waking hours put tbs
thumb inside the mouth, nor ever alluded
to it except to ask sympathy for the 'spGo'
little so fmuul' A week or so later,
when he spent the day with some intimate
friends, they were aStonished to see him
many times raise his hand with the ges-
ture which had become involuntary, be-
think himself in season, and with an eff
fort lower it again After a few days he
was as affectionate and full of delight in
life as ever, but for weeks, he could fall
asleep only after a long, wearisome strug-
gle. Several times in this month lJanu-
airy, 1880 we have found that long after
falling asleep, say 10 or II in the evening,
his thumb had slipped in. This shows
how strong the habit had grown. And
yet when aroused in the effort to draw II
out he repels with an indignant .No-o-op'
round mouthed and wide eyed, the charge
Of ever once returning to the old habit.
Was not that a successful appeal to a
higher motive than disgust? VIII not the
success of that first great effort help the
growth of the queen of all virtues, sophro-
syne-self controls Babyhood.